“Quickly!” I whisper loudly to Ulrika. “Get your shirt on. I don’t want to be here any longer around this place.” Nite soldiers are swarming the streets all of a sudden. I can hear the sounds of their chainmail clanking every time they walk past our window. “Do you have the route to Thubet’s kingdom memorized?”
“I do,” Ulrika says as she franticly gathers her things before we leave. “I’m ready to go when you are.” Two buttons on her shirt need to be threaded through. Some parts of her breasts are visible. Since we’re rushing to leave, I don’t find it that important to tell her to cover them up.
We dash out of the inn with our Kromagian markers rolled up in our hands to the stables. A succubus stable hand begins her daily routine of feeding the horses with some freshly cut green hay when we enter the building.
“Ah, good morning,” the succubus says, shoving her pitchfork into the ground before approaching us. “You’re ready to set off, yes?”
“That’s correct. Have they been good?” I ask while Ulrika takes my Kromagian cape out of my hand to fasten it on my horse.
“Yes. I groomed and fed them as she ordered.”
“You sure did,” Ulrika says. “It’s to go, my love. Work awaits us.” She gives me a wink, then takes the reins of her horse to walk out.
“Have a nice day,” I say, giving a slight bow to the succubus. She bows back and resumes her duties to the other horses within the stable. I hop on my horse to join Ulrika out in the streets. “Do you have everything you need?”
“Everything is accounted for. Let’s get the fuck out of here,” she utters softly. At first, we slowly stride to keep any Nite onlookers at ease. There are a lot of wandering eyes on us. I’m positive some of them are questioning why two people not from their stock are roaming the streets. One cultist stares me down, making the Nite soldiers around him stop in the middle of the road to look at him.
“Kaio, eyes forward,” Ulrika says. “You’re going to draw too much attention.”
“Forgive me.”
“It’s okay. We’re almost out of here. Look like they’re not worth your attention.”
I watch her expertly mind her business as cultists around her gaze. Most of her attention is on the road ahead. Her eyes sometimes lock on passing signs and buildings but never on the cultist. I mimic everything she does.
So far, so good. The cultist hasn’t harassed us for the time being. But the exit gate might prove problematic. We’re getting stopped before making it thirty feet from it.
“I’ll do all the talking,” Ulrika says.
“Please,” I say. Two Nite soldiers with maces hanging from their hips and triangular-shaped shields fixated on their backs stand in front of our horses.
“You two realize you’re supposed to stop us at the gate, right?”
“Step off your horses,” the man in front of me commands. “We need to inspect your baggage.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she says, aggressively soothing her brows with her thumbs.
“Get off your fucking horse right now,” the man in front of her says with a finger pointing at the ground.
“Kaio.”
“Yes?” I say.
“Is there a way you can turn them into stone?” She whispers to me with her hand over her mouth, blocking it from being seen by them.
“Into stone?” I repeat slowly. She mouths me to use my tether magic, then slides her fingers across her lips. It takes a second to see what she wants me to do. “Oh! Right!” I hop off my horse in compliance with the man’s decree. “Gentlemen.” I tether all of them together and apply a full-body tether that freezes them in place. Their mouths are shut tight, but I have to cast Trans Mute to silence their yelling.
“Wonderful! Let’s go before the others see this,” I say.
“Kaio,” Ulrika chuckles as we ride away from them. “How long are they going to stay like that?”
“Until I open my fist,” I answer, showing my hand. We ride for about five miles before I open it. “I let them go. They’ll hunt us down.”
“Are you worried about that?”
“No,” I chuckle. “You?”
“No,” she answers, smiling. “If worst is to come, we can portal to Nebulas.”
Three days on the path to the elven kingdom, Nite remains on our tail. During our downtime, I often send my sword to their location to calculate how fast Ulrika and I need to travel. On the fifth day, we reach a sufficient distance to stop worrying. Thubet’s kingdom is in sight, but the new moon casts the woodland in darkness. The only sign I can see in the distance of its existence is a dimly lit orange light of I’m assuming is burning watchtowers.
Since Nite is a day behind us, sleeping tonight will give us peace of mind. Unfortunately, the loud bugs around Ulrika might keep her up at night. She will not stay away from me while I find a good place for us to lie down.
“Kaio,” Ulrika whines, shielding her face with her hand from the bugs hitting her while tucking her face into my chest. “Hurry up and make your box.”
“Settle down,” I say, resting my hand on the back of her head. “Let me get these horses tied down.” I tether my sword to use as a post to keep the horses stationary. Once I flatten the ground using Perfect Geometry, I summon Concussive Shield to vaporize all the bugs from getting in.
“Thank you, my love,” she says before giving me a quick kiss. “This damn land has all kinds of vile insects known to man.” I hand her a fire orb to light her way. She takes it to illuminate the ground. There are a lot of squished bugs. “Gods! How am I going to get some sleep?”
“Use my cape. Lay on it.”
“No, no. I’ll just deal with it. I don’t want to dirty it up.” The bugs begin flying into the barrier from all sides the moment I step in. She sits down with her knees near her chest as she watches the small light show of bugs instantly burning around us. “Ugh. This is disgusting.”
“I know,” I chuckle as I take my eyes off her to stare at Thubet’s kingdom through the trees. The fact that beyond their walls is an entire nation of elves that are secluded from the rest of the world astonishes me. A champion resides somewhere in there, but I’m kind of worried about what will happen the moment we approach the walls. Most second-hand information I know of them is their disdain towards humans. “Ulrika,” I say.
“Yes?”
“How badly do these elves hate humans?” I ask as I come down to sit with her.
“Hate seems a bit high,” she lightly scoffs with a chuckle. “I would say they detest us greatly.” She hands me back the orb I gave her. I smother it, then form it into four orbs to offer more light. She gags from seeing more of the dead bugs around her. “Are you worried we’ll be treated unfairly?”
“Yes, and since we’re Kromagians, I feel like our status won’t be recognized either.”
“Let’s hope that’s not the case.”
The next morning at dawn’s light, Ulrika manifests Syren’s makeup kit to make herself more feminine in the sight of the elves. For this occasion, she colors her lips differently. Instead of putting both colors on the lips, she applies black lipstick on her upper lip. She makes the skin around her eyelids darker in her usual style and makes her cheeks blush more.
“I think I’m ready to go,” Ulrika says, then vanishes her makeup kit.
“Think?” I say, untethering the horses. “Do you want to add more somewhere?” The moment she’s about to respond, a cavalry of three elves with long dark brown hair tied behind their head using several black-colored bands surprises us. There are two males and one female. They stand on a small rock cliff, gazing down at us with no emotion on their faces. The horses’ hoofs drizzle green sparks with every step they take, but each motion is silent. “Where did they come from?”
“We were alerted by the inhabitants of the forest,” a she-elf says with disdain in her voice.
“Inhabitants?” I say to Ulrika.
“It’s the wildlife here,” Ulrika says.
“Sir, permission to take her into custody,” the she-elf says. A pair of silver shackles on her waist catch my eyes. I check the others and find that each one of them has restraints on full display.
“Granted,” an older elf says from the middle of the trio.
“Excuse me?” Ulrika snaps. “Do you know who I am?”
“I don’t care who you are. You are in Thubet’s outer domain uninvited.” The she-elf jumps off her horse with her shackles in hand, aiming to arrest Ulrika. I cast my sword in front of her to prevent it from happening.
“Stand down,” I say.
“Kromagian, don’t get involved with our protocols.”
“You’re not going to arrest my wife. She descends from my people.”
“How? She looks nothing like you,” she says then looks at Ulrika. “What kingdom do you come from?”
“Shalana,” the older elf says. “Stand down.” Shalana takes a step back and hooks her shackle back on her waist. The older elf steps off his horse to come closer to me. “She’s a mixed breed?”
“Yes,” I answer, feeling disgusted in seeing her as a so-called mixed Kromagian. In my culture, looks don’t matter. All we care about when it comes to determining what nation we hail from is if the father is of Kromagian descent. Fair skin is common among our people. They mostly live north and do not go outside the walls as much unlike the southern tribes. Unfortunately, these elves believe all Kromagians should look like me. They must be so isolated that their education of the world has to be outdated. “Ulrika put on your hood,” I say, pointing at her horse.
“Move,” Ulrika says, almost walking through Shalana to get to her hood. She puts it on to show the nation she comes from. “See? Now stop insulting me.”
“Apologies,” the older elf says. “But, I must ask why you are here. Did you two come from the south?”
“Yes,” I say, grabbing my sword away from Shalana. “We’ve been running from a Nite search party.”
“How far are they?”
“A day.”
“That’s funny. I thought Kromagians weren’t cowardly,” Shalana blabbers from her foolish mouth.
“We’re not,” I say with annoyance and agitation.
“Darling, don’t let her rile you up,” Ulrika says, menacingly staring at Shalana. “She doesn’t know the sacrifices we went through.” She scoffs at us then the third elf steps off his horse.
“So, what are you doing here?” The third elf asks.
“We’re looking for a special fighter to help us go up against Nite just in case the world loses this war,” I say.
“We would like access to entry to Thubet’s kingdom,” Ulrika says. “We won’t stay for long. I know how you elves loathe humans.”
“Damn right,” Shalana says before spitting on the ground. “Follow us. You’ll be marked as a visitor once we enter the gates.”
The elves escort us to a land enchanted with nature. Most of the stone structures have moss or vines growing on them. They aren’t randomly placed. Everything looks like it is part of the design. It grows around the windows, and some vines are the natural door for open buildings. Some houses are built on thick tree branches while others are on the ground like I’m used to seeing.
“Why build in trees?” I ask out loud.
“Safety, security, tradition,” Ulrika says.
“You seem to know us well,” Shalana says, looking over her shoulder to see Ulrika.
“I’m well acquainted.”
“How’s that?” Ulrika leaves her unanswered. I can see the agitation in Shalana’s snarl that she doesn’t take kindly to the silence. “Human dung,” she says behind a whisper.
“What is your deal?” I yell. All three elves suddenly stop their horses. They stare back at us for an uncomfortable amount of time.
“Is there a problem?” Ulrika says with an authoritative minor deep voice. Shalana waves her hand in a synchronized pattern. A flash of white light comes out of her hands, then something hot wraps around my neck. Ulrika and I grab our necks at the same time. “What the hell is going on?” A white glowing tattoo appears around her neck like a collar. “Kaio, there’s something around your neck.”
“Same with you,” I say, then look at Shalana. “What is this?”
“Its your marker,” the elder elf says. “Finish your mission, then come see me at the garrison before you leave. You won’t be able to depart with them on.” They leave before I can wrap my head around the fact Ulrika and I are stuck in a land that doesn’t take kindly to our race.
“That fucking bitch,” Ulrika whispers under her breath before gazing at my neck. “That damn mark is clear as day.” Some elves walking past give me unfriendly looks. Every gaze looks angry. Even the kids look disgusted.
“What the hell is going on?” I whisper. “Why are they giving me the look?”
“Kaio, don’t pay mind to their stares.”
“It’s hard not to.”
We head in a random direction without taking any guidance from the champion map we have. I can’t stop noticing the awful glances we keep getting. It’s odd seeing this kind of reaction. I’m used to people being nice or expressing respect when seeing a Kromagian in their land.
“I’m getting the feeling they don’t care about our nationality,” I say.
“Yup,” she answers, glancing at someone passing her. One elf takes it upon himself to spit in our direction, nearly hitting our horses. “That’s it! Give me one moment.” She suddenly stops the horse and takes out the champion list and skims down it quickly. “I should’ve done this the moment we got here. Let’s find this person and not suffer in this dumb place any longer.”
“I just don’t get it. Why do they look at us like that?”
“My guess,” she pauses to turn the horse around. “Narberth Roven’s rebellion.”
Narberth Roven’s rebellion? That’s the fight Ulrika was in a few years ago.
“I bet they’re still mad about the outcome,” Ulrika adds.
“What happened?” I ask, keeping my voice soft so as to not raise any unwanted attention. “If you don’t mind me asking. You never told me the details.”
“Later. Let’s go find our champion, Elred Vengolor.”
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All right,” I say, following her. “Where is it telling us to go?”
She points at a mountain with snow on the caps to her left. “Destruction Mountain.”
Destruction Mountain?
The rocks look intact. I don’t see any chunks missing or misplaced. I keep my curiosity about its name tamed as we journey closer to it. The closer I get, the more the name needs to be clarified.
I finally get the courage to ask her. When I move to approach her from the side, an elf standing in the middle of the street spits at her. His spit hits her horse, narrowly missing her thigh.
“Hey!” I shout. I jump off my horse to confront the asshole. “What is your problem!”
“Kaio, get back on your horse!” Ulrika says before I can shove the elf away. My hands stop halfway up my chest right at the moment I’m about to extend them.
“No!”
“Kaioson!” She gets off her horse to restrain me from pursuing the elf. “Let it go.”
“Why must I?”
“Don’t get confrontational with the elves here,” she utters softly in my ear. “Remember, we’re locked in here so let’s play nice.”
“This is ridiculous,” I say, trying to match her volume. “We shouldn’t be treated like this.”
“You shouldn’t be,” she sighs. “I should be taking the brunt of their hatred.”
“Why?” I look her in the eyes so she can see the intensity of my reaction. “You don’t deserve that.” She stares off to her left in silence like she’s guilty of something. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“I’ll speak about it when we’re alone.”
“Fine,” I sigh. I flip her hood over her head to help mask her human identity. “Keep this on until we’re somewhere private.
We continue on the trek to the supposedly Destructive Mountain while getting insulted every few minutes in varying ways. Whether it’s judgemental gazes, verbal insults, or spitting, we get it all. But the issues don’t stop there. Very few people want us in their establishments. I can purchase food or clothing, but lodging will be a challenge. Ulrika tells me the wilderness will be our temporary home until we finish our job. The news doesn’t disappoint me as it does for her. I try to fight for her comfort against the insufferable innkeepers, but she continues to tell me not to be contentious no matter what. This crap nearly breaks me on several occasions. I’m beyond the point of disappointment that once I’m out of here, I will never return to these disrespectful people.
We make it to a town below the mountain called Ilnor, despite our suffering. The place is in ruins. Rumble is everywhere. Some elves are inside the damaged houses, and the trees are dead. Not even the ground seems to have life within it. When I step off my horse, I kick up dust from under my boots.
“Gods, what happened here?” I say, watching the elves roam around. “Looks like a battle raged here.”
“That’s because it did,” an elf says behind me. He startles me enough that I nearly yank my sword out of the scabbard to draw it. “Easy! I’m no threat!” I get a good look at him before deciding if he is a threat or not. His hands and waist are clear from any weapon. There’s a blue feather weaved into his shoulder-length dark blonde hair. He’s wearing baggy yet fashionable clothing. He has on an unbuttoned blue vest over his halfway-unbuttoned white shirt. His exposed chest and a portion of his abdomen show an insight into how muscular he might be. Near the tip of his left ear is a blue earring.
I drop my sword back into its scabbard while maintaining eye contact. He looks younger than me. Maybe around his later teens. And he seems to be not from here. Everyone but him look to be homeless. Their clothing looks old and dirty. His are clean.
“What are two Kromagians doing this far south?” He asks us.
“We’re looking for an elf,” Ulrika says, pointing at Elred Vengolor’s name on the list.
“Wow, you’re a woman?” He says in a high-pitched tone, disregarding the name. “That’s so cool!” Ulrika nods her head from side to side as she looks at me. “Hey, I’ve heard they’re the ugliest creatures to ever exist, but you don’t look that ugly to me.”
“Weird how ugly creatures can make men and elves want to pour their seeds out for them,” Ulrika says sarcastically. The elf hums while tapping his lips with his index finger as if he’s unsure how to respond.
“Yeah, that’s weird. Why would we do that?”
“Gods,” I say, cringing at this dumb idiot. “How sheltered are you?”
“Kaio,” Ulrika shouts softly before returning to a normal tone. “Do you know an elf named Elred Vengolor by any chance?”
“Elred Vengolor?” He says with a shaky, stuttering voice. “No. Never heard of him.” His answer does sit well with me. The first thing he does is cross his arms before answering the question. He also looks off to his left as he says he doesn’t know.
“You don’t?”
“Nope!” That response comes with tighter crossed arms. There’s something he’s hiding, and I might know what it might be.
“Hey,” I say in a soft voice. I say it again but softer. He looks at me, only moving his eyes. “Elred.” The muscles around his nose twitch. “You’re Elred,” I say, pointing between his eyes. “I need to ask you some questions.”
“That’s not my name,” He stutters.
“Elred,” Ulrika snaps.
“Yes, ma’am?” Elred jumps to attention like this is a military setting.
“Answer my husband’s questions, please.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I ask Elred who he is to discover why Coretha chose him to be a Champion. With the information he’s exposing about himself, I’m not hearing anything peculiarly. He’s sixteen years old, arrogant, cocky, and trouble maker according to an elf’s comments when we walk by them. I don’t sense any idle magic within him.
“One moment,” I say as I defend Elred’s ear using Trans Mute before speaking to Ulrika. “Do you sense any magic within him?”
“Nothing, unfortunately,” she says, shaking her head. Elred tries to speak through my spell. He continues talking like he has a speech prepared for us.
“What’s up with this boy?” I ask Ulrika as quietly as I can. “He has to be jesting?”
“I’ll get him to stop. Watch this,” Ulriks says, smirking sinisterly. A spark emits from her fingers after she snaps them. She snaps them again, sending a spark to his earring.
“Ouch!” Elred yells, cupping his ear. I cut off the spell so we can hear him without trying to read his mouth. “What was that?”
“Enough. We’re not here to chit-chat.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
“How come?” I ask.
“Well,” he says as he examines us carefully, gazing at every inch. “You two are big, armed, and make me nervous.”
“Nervous?” Ulrika chuckles. “You didn’t sound like you were a moment ago.”
“I talk a lot when I’m nervous, okay.”
“Settle down then. We’re only here to recruit you.” She shows him the list of champions and then reads out all the names thereon. “An angel we know found favor in you.”
“An angel?” He gasps in shock and excitement.
“That’s right. She believes your skills can help us fight against Nite if the war favors them.”
“Wait a second,” he says, taking a step back. His hands grab his hip while he looks up to the sky with his eyes closed. “This sounds far-fetched. Plus, I’m no fighter.”
“Really now?” I say. This situation reminds me of Glysith’s excuse.
“Yes. Your angel chose the wrong person,” he says, then chuckles slowly. “You should be asking Thubet to help you. That is if you can persuade our leader to join humans.”
“Thubet is better than you?”
“Yes! You should see her in action!” Ulrika mumbles under her breath saying that she isn’t particularly skilled.
“Wait, you’ve seen her?” I ask. “When?” Ulrika hesitates and fumbles giving me a straight answer. She flip-flops between confirming and denying if she does. “Have you or not?” She bites down on her inner lower lip while looking straight at Elred.
“Isn’t this your first time being here, you two?”
“Yes,” I say, looking back at Elred and then turning to Ulrika. “Did you see her during Narberth Roven’s rebellion?”
“The humans I remember being here during that were Knights,” he says softly as he slows down in the middle of his speech.” His eyes slowly open further as they aim directly at her. She stares him down like a hawk without moving a muscle. Her face is still and emotionless.
“Ulrika?” I whisper. Her eyes rapidly blink before they turn to me. “Are you unwell?”
“I’m fine,” Ulrika says when she crosses her arms. “It’s getting late. We need to set up camp.” I look to the sky to wonder why we need to do that now. There is still plenty of daylight left. “Kaio,” she says, tugging and pulling me away from Elren. “Let’s go.”
“What’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing,” she grins as she walks me away further up the road. “We need to go before—”
“Stop, murderer!” Elred says with his finger pointing at her. “You’re the people responsible for killing my parents!” The blood on his face begins to boil his peachy pigment into a pink glow.
“You got it all mixed up. That wasn’t me, Elred.”
“Liar!”
He reaches for his right hip like he’s going to draw his sword. There’s nothing there to pull. Suddenly, elven tattoo-like inscriptions illuminate on his face, body, and arms as a sword manifests from a fixed point near his hip. The blade looks as if it is made out of ice. Fog falls from it like mist shooting off a massive waterfall.
Ah, so that’s where his power comes from.
“Elred, you got it all wrong,” Ulrika pleas with her hands in front of her chest. I wield my sword to protect her if the need demands it. “I didn’t kill your parents.”
“I’ll kill you for you did!”
Elred swings his sword up, but I slam it down with my sword into the ground. He tries his hardest to pull his sword back up.
“Stay out of this!” Elred says.
“Stand down!” I yell. He struggles to break free his sword from the ground. My strength is too much for him to handle. “Stop this madness at once! She said she didn’t do it!”
Suddenly, Elred’s sword turns into water. It reappears again when he goes for a forward thrust. I shatter his entire sword inches from penetrating her stomach. The quick yet panicky thinking of me accidentally discharges too much force magic. It sends them skidding their asses on the ground. She recovers to her feet while Elred barrel rolls in a cloud of dust.
“Ulrika!” I scream with so much anger in my voice. She flinches hard, momentarily bracing her chest with her arms. “What are you doing? He could have killed you right there!”
“I’m sorry, Kaioson,” she says quietly with her head down, grabbing her left index finger. I’m beyond hearing an apology. I can’t believe she let her guard down to something that obvious and avoidable.
“Weild your weapon!” She tries telling me something but keeps stammering. “Speak clearly, my love.”
There isn’t time for me to listen because Elred creates another sword. I walk up to him to prepare for a serious fight. His emotions are riled up. He’s in tears yet he’s angry. I’m worried I’ll seriously hurt the guy if he continues his assault. Coretha needs him for the future of this world, so I’ll have to think of ways to diffuse this misunderstanding.
“Elred, put your weapon away,” I say. “I do not want to hurt you, but I will if you attack my wife again.”
“Your wife is a stone-cold killer!” Elred says then duel wields another sword. Instead of it being ice, it’s like lightning. “She and those knights were responsible for what you see here!”
“Gods,” I groan at the sight of lightning-based magic. “Ulrika, I need your help!”
“Elred, I beg of you,” Ulrika says. “Let’s talk. What you think is wrong.” He takes no heed to her wishes and charges me. “Kaioson, stop!” Ulrika says. I aim to protect her while preventing myself from getting too close to his lightning sword. I parry the ice sword and dodge the lightning sword. My defense is unbreakable. It feels like I’m fighting against an inexperienced swordsman.
This guy isn’t normal. He can’t be the champion Caretha wants, right?
Nothing Elred pulls off works. All of his swings are wild and none coordinated. When his elemental weapons fail, he creates a steel one with a golden handle, no hand guard, and a jagged side blade.
“How are you making these weapons out of nothing?” I say right before blasting him back. His sword vanishes into nothing as he tumbles backward. “What kind of mage are you?”
“That’s enough!” Ulrika says, yanking me to her by the top of my shoulder. “Don’t hurt the kid.”
“This kid,” I say with an emphasis on the word, kid. “Is trying to kill you over some bullshit, Ulrika!”
“Just... just. I need to make him see somehow.” Elred stands to his feet, huffing and puffing. His right hand slowly reaches for the space next to his hip. I take one step to approach, but she pulls me back. “Don’t hurt him, please. Try wearing him out.”
The plan to wear Elred out doesn’t sound bad. I conjure a defense spell on my sword to do all the heavy work to wear him out. He’s exhausted enough I don’t have to use my sword to block his slow swings. One snap from my fingers stops him from swinging. It is also enough force to make him stumble back.
“Are you done?” I ask.
“No,” he says, panting like a dog. “I won’t stop!” The calmness in me shatters. I take his words to heart and blast him with enough force to send him through a house in the rubble.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Ulrika says after she shoves me in the back. I almost fall forward from how hard she pushes me.
“Nothing is wrong with me,” I answer, refraining from screaming at the top of my lungs. “What is wrong with you? He wants you dead!” She clicks her tongue to dismiss my question and turns her back to me. “Hey! What’s the matter with you.”
“Nothing.”
“Why are you acting like this?!” The sound of stones falling takes my attention away from my frustration towards her. Elred walks towards me with his right hand clutching his wrist. He takes five steps before collapsing to his knees, weeping.
Ulrika walks to him, ignoring my commands to stay back. She embraces him while I ready my dagger for a killing blow to his heart just in case he tries to hurt her.
“Put that away,” Ulrika pleas with teary eyes. “He’s not a threat.”
“I will not,” I answer. I decide to use my sword instead of my dagger because it will be quicker to command my sword to move than thrusting my dagger for a killing blow.
“Stop!” She tries to shove my sword away with both of her hands tightly gripping the blades but fails to move it. “Kaio!”
“What are you doing?” Elred says. “You’ll cut yourself trying to force it away.”
“I won’t.”
“How?”
“I’m not a threat.” I conjure my sword to aim for the back of his neck, but she cups it with her other hand. “Kaioson, stand down. Please, I’m begging you.”
“I can’t.” My worry for her life is at an all-time high. I don’t care if she screams like a mad woman to stop me from protecting her. Her safety is more important. “This boy has threatened you several times.”
“He’s confused by his anger!”
“Confused?” Elred says in a break from his weeping. “I’m not confused.”
“Yes, you are. Kaio, come to me.” She pulls my right hand to place it on her lap. “Can you make him see he’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“You showed Glysith a world where she didn’t help. Could you possibly show someone my memories?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never done that before.”
“Can you try?” I’m hesitant. I don’t want to be at arm’s length of someone I just fought. “Kaioson, please. I need your help. I need to make him see.” My gut is screaming at me not to do this. Yet the kindness in my heart wants to appease her wish. I don’t know what to do.
“Ulrika...” I can’t find the words to say to express my discomfort.
“Tether his hands if it’ll help,” she says as she puts Elred’s hands together. I do just that. The sight of the magical restraints takes a lot of stress away. I can think clearly now. “Thank you.”
“We’re going to have a serious talk later.”
I cover Elred’s eyes with my hand and cup Ulrika’s forehead. Instead of creating an illusion of a fake reality, I try searching for what she wants me to explore. I can see a hazy image of her as a knight as if I’m standing right next to her.
The image flashes inside my mind to her point of view. She’s on top of flat ground, somewhere on Destruction Mountain. She peeks over the ledge to look down upon Ilnor then suddenly the memory flashes forward to catapults throwing flaming rocks from a bend on the cliff she can’t see. They explode on impact into multiple small explosions. She funnels the smoke westward by pointing in that direction with her left hand while waving her right hand back and forth.
Her memory jumps again. Now she’s walking with the knights within the city. She’s holding a sword I have never seen before. It isn’t special. It looks like a typical steel sword with a cross guard and black leather handle wrapping.
A knight emerges from a building on fire to her right startling her. She raises her sword for a moment, then puts her hand over her heart. Her eyes focus on his bloody sword as he sheathes it. He turns to his right, ready to follow the group, but she tells him to stop. I can barely make out what she’s saying because her voice keeps echoing. She’s questioning who he killed. The knight continues ignoring her, so she heads into the house and finds two elves dead. A young elf with blonde hair enters the room from an adjacent room to her left. The point of view switches to the memories of the young elf. She’s covered in unpolished armor. I abruptly return to her eyes but the young elf is now Elred as he is now, then my hold on her memories suddenly fades to black.
“Gods,” I say.
“Holy cow,” Ulrika mumbles, rubbing her eyes vigorously with the palms of her hands. “Elred, do you believe me now?”
“Was that real?” Elred asks me.
“More a less,” I say, helping Ulrika to her feet.
“So,” he says, clearing his eyes from tears. “Who killed them? Was it that knight?”
“It was. He was court-martialed.”
“W-What does that mean?”
“He was punished for what he did.” It saddens me to hear and see such a travesty.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I say after sheathing my sword. “You’ve seen the truth. Will you stand down?”
Ulrika offers her hand to help him up after I take the tether off. He denies it and stands on his own. I take her hand so she can help me up.
“I’m going to need some time to process this.” He wanders away, staggering with every step he takes.
“Hold on,” Ulrika says.
“Let him be,” I whisper in her ear. “We need to talk.”
----------------------------------------
We don’t say a word as I prepare our campground. She watches me on a half-broken stone bench. This is the first time that I can’t stand to look at her.
When I finish everything, I get on my knees to meditate. Hopefully, I’ll be in a better mood once I’m done. I will not let her actions go unpunished. She needs to hear my anger and concern.
It doesn’t take long for me to give up on trying to meditate. I’m too angry to think calmly. Every peaceful image I try to place myself in, I see Ulrika’s sad expression. The second I open my eyes, her arms gently lock around the front of my waist. Her gloves are off. I rub my thumb on the jewel on her ring. It gives me some joy seeing it on her finger. And it brings me back to the wonderful memory of the happiness it brought her.
“Kaioson, forgive me,” Ulrika cries. “That was so reckless of me. It’ll never happen again. You have my word, my love.” She continues crying while whispering in my ear to forgive her careless actions.
“I made a vow,” I say to remind her of our end goal.
“I know. I’m so sorry, Kaioson!” She cries louder, hiding her face with her hands. I embrace her into my body as I shed tears of relief that we are still together.
“Don’t do that again, okay?”
“You have my word.” She weeps for a time without any control over how rough it gets. “I’m such a bad wife!”
“Cease that foolish thought. You are nowhere near such a title.”
“I almost let myself die right in front of you. No wife should make their husband go through that.”
“Why’d you stand there?”
“I was shocked to hear someone accuse me of such a crime.” Her weeping begins to rile up in volume. “I felt like I was a part of the act.”
“How?” I say, rubbing away her tears with my thumb.
“There were many dead civilians that day.” She sniffs her mucus back into her nose and takes a moment to collect herself. “After realizing what he had done, I thought about my own actions in clearing the smoke.” More tears came out of her eyes unexpectedly. “I could’ve killed someone by blowing the smoke on them.”
“No. I saw what you were doing. Your intentions were not to hurt.”
I remind Ulrika of moments when her air magic avoids hurting those she doesn’t want to harm. The magic within her is strictly precise about where she wants the wind to move. She’s not an evil person she’s assuming. My wife is considerate, fair, and protective.
“You are a good person, Ulrika,” I say. “Let me hear you say that,” I plea to her while I clean off the tears around her eyes.
“I am... a good person,” she repeats twice, becoming more confident in her words. “Kaioson,” she says calmly, gazing deeply into my eyes with her gentle fingers pulling me closer to her face. Before I can ask why she wants to, she kisses my lips. “I’ll forever be grateful to have you in my life. Thank you.”
“Anytime,” I say as we embrace.
We plan to speak with Elren again the next morning to learn more about his power to wield a weapon out of nothing after taking a mental break. For now, we sit together under the stars, discussing the things that confound us about him. She wants to understand how a young elf, with the physique of a soldier, doesn’t know how to swing a sword. I want to focus on who gave him his power. This is our first time seeing such magic. She believes it has to be elven magic that’s catered to their segregated race.
“How do you know?” I challenge.
“Because we’ve read similar literature, right?” I name a few elven authors off the back of my hand. She tells me her list and says some I know off.
“They don’t describe what we saw?” She shakes her head, no. “You could be right then.”
“Hopefully,” she yawns then lays down. “Ambagra has one of the best libraries in Inaubira,” she says while yawning. “I’m certain Vanessa would’ve shown me this.” Another yawn causes her to stop and stretch her entire body by twisting it. “That would be useful to have,” she says nearly dosing off. Her shoulder bumps into mine.
“I guess it’s time,” I chuckle.
“Assume the position.” The second I attempt to lay down on my back, she’s already trying to snuggle on me.
“You wasted no time.”Morning comes with thunderous hoofs. A blonde hair she-elf with a muscular structure similar to Ulrika’s wears a sleeveless shirt and stands outside the box, gazing directly at me. Her twisted locks dangle below her face when she squats over my face.
“Um, hi,” I say. “Ulrika, get up,” I whisper, then gently shake her awake to avoid spooking her.
“Cousin,” the she-elf says. “Is this them?” Elred comes to her side with his fingers pointing at me Ulrika and me.
“That’s them, Thubet,” he says.